The Bush administration and six large mortgage lenders unveiled a plan Tuesday to offer 30-day reprieves to some homeowners facing foreclosure. ...more

February 13, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - The Florida Public Service Commission is expected to vote Tuesday on a proposal from a private utility that could more than double its customers' bills. ...more

February 11, 2008

Despite remarkably quick passage, the government's economic aid plan and its cash rebates may come too late to prevent a recession this year. For many experts, however, the $168 billion boost to the lagging economy may mean the difference between a short downturn and something much more serious. ...more

February 10, 2008

TREASURE ISLAND - It's safe for members of roughly 30 households to drink their tap water this morning, two days after an underground water main break prompted a mandatory boil-water edict. ...more

February 7, 2008

TREASURE ISLAND - Members of roughly 30 households will have to boil their water for two days because a 16-inch underground water main broke early this morning, Pinellas County Utilities officials said. ...more

February 5, 2008

We're No. 2 in the nation. And while that sounds good, it's not. Florida ranked second in the country for its 2007 foreclosure rate, according to data released Monday from Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, which monitors foreclosure activity. ...more

January 29, 2008

SEBRING — Riverside Bank has announced a sweepstakes in which winners will have one month's mortgage or rent paid for by the bank. The contest is created in response to a slumping economy at a time when most households are feeling the results of holiday spending. "We understand that many people in the home towns we serve are feeling the pinch of the difficult economy. We thought by presenting this sweepstakes, we could ease their pain a little," said John Williams, regional president in Highlands, Polk and Okeechobee counties. "By eliminating the responsibility of one month's mortgage or rent payment, winners can use their funds toward paying off other bills or whatever else they choose." ...more

January 27, 2008

If you're like me, you recently received another sack of phone books at your door. I am so sick and tired of these bloody things I could scream! Within the past six months 13-plus pounds of near-useless paper has been dumped at my doorstep. We didn't ask for the phone books. We did not put out an urgent call to Verizon or AT&T to please bring us some more dead trees or child booster seats. There they were anyway waiting annoyingly on our front stoop. ...more

December 20, 2007

U.S. homeowners increasingly failed to keep up with their home loan payments in November, as the number of foreclosure filings surged 68 percent nationwide compared with the same month a year ago, according to a mortgage research company. ...more

December 20, 2007

SEBRING — Robert Saffold wants to make sure all children receive things they need for Christmas this year, regardless of their economic status. Saffold, executive secretary of Florida Sportsman Association, and other volunteers will take underprivileged children on a shopping spree, giving them each $60 Saffold said many of the children are from families without employment, families trying to survive on welfare assistance programs or grandparent households. ...more

December 15, 2007